Working: Degrees are the same, but goals worlds apart

L.M. SIXEL, HOUSTON CHRONICLE |
June 10, 2011

We already know that when it comes to their relationships, men are from Mars and women are from Venus. It turns out it's true at work, too.

A survey of students seeking master of business administration degrees in Texas found men and women have widely differing ways of reaching their career goals. In a nutshell, men are more focused on the here-and-now, citing the importance of a competitive base salary.

Women expressed less interest in money — at least right away. They focused more on planting the seeds to get ahead. They're looking for employer-sponsored educational opportunities and companies that will support their development, according to Universum's online survey of 415 Texas MBA students, conducted from December through March.

It surveyed students at the University of Texas-Austin, Southern Methodist, Rice and Texas A&M. Their average age is nearly 29, and more than one-third are studying finance.

More women see their first post-MBA job as a steppingstone, said Melissa Burdette, employer branding consultant with Universum in Philadelphia. The company, based in Stockholm, Sweden, conducts an annual worldwide survey of 350,000 students as part of its research for corporate clients who are trying to position themselves as employers of choice for their target pool of prospects.

The rough economy seems to be affecting job search strategies and preferences.

The number of female MBA candidates who want secure jobs shot up this year, while their insistence on a big paycheck waned, according to the survey. Male students, however, still place more value on a high starting salary than on secure employment.

That tells Burdette that women are willing to sacrifice a high salary upfront in exchange for the opportunity for training, growth opportunities and more responsibility. That strategy, they figure, will lead them to a higher salary and a better job in the future, she said.

Adjusting the message

Employers can use that information to adjust their recruiting messages, Burdette said. For example, consumer products firms, which historically have trouble attracting men, could highlight the competitive wages they offer. Or they could emphasize challenging work or the chance to become a technical expert - both mentioned often by male survey respondents.

When she counsels MBA candidates on evaluating job offers, women focus on career development, while men want to know how to negotiate a bigger bonus, Fuehne said. It's a variation on the age-old bottom-line guy question, "What's for dinner?" she said.

She said Rice University graduates often have a chance to explore the worlds of both Mars and Venus - high salary and opportunity for growth - because Houston's energy companies are competing for top talent.

Different environment

That's not so much the case on the East Coast, where investment banking firms dominate the hiring scene, Fuehne said. It's an environment where bankers are as good as their last deal and where top female graduates are reluctant to give up career development in exchange for a big salary.

While women opt out of investment banking, men are drawn to the risk-reward volatility.

"Men love it," Fuehne said. They're not as worried about where it will lead in five years.

But money was secondary to Tkachova, 23, who received a lot of interest from consulting firms and ultimately accepted an offer with a large oil field services company based in Houston. She starts her new job Monday.

The company has a three-year program in supply chain management that will rotate Tkachova and her new colleagues through a new job every six months. She hopes that will lead to a managerial position.

Family responsibilities

Women MBA candidates also lean toward jobs that offer flexibility because they're thinking about family responsibilities, said Jamie Belinne, assistant dean for career services at the Bauer College, where 1,000 students are seeking MBAs.

Belinne sees less difference in the jobs or salaries offered men and women than in the jobs they ultimately accept. And more women than ever seem to be interested in work-life balance, including opportunities to work part time and from home.

Belinne said she sees that among employees in her own office, which helps MBA graduates find jobs. Several female employees have advanced degrees and senior leadership experience, yet don't want the routine of late nights and weekends that many corporate jobs require.

Women tend to choose careers that they can enter and leave easily to accommodate their family needs, she said. That way they can drop out for a while when the kids are young and still move upward when they return.